Measurement of physical quantities, such as pressure, temperature, and force in a time variable system, is typically accomplished with analog summing of signals or relatively costly high-speed parallel hardware architectures. Both of these solutions are limiting with regard to distributive measurement due to small signal levels and limited resolution versus cost.
To overcome these handicaps, in the invention the analog to digital conversion is provided at a local measurement device and, utilizing relatively inexpensive integrating converters and microcomputers, low level signals are easily converted to high-resolution values including corrections for sensor and electronic related errors. With this distribution of measurement function, the time relationship of each measurement is synchronized through a computer network and the local microcomputers' control of the measurement. All nodes in the network begin measuring in response to a master synchronizing command. A system master, upon retrieving the synchronized digital data, develops a data base which provides measurement and computation capability greatly improved over prior techniques.